Voting Round 1 William Vangeance vs Tatsu

[Marmalade]

William Vangeance Black Clover		Tatsu The Way of the Househusband

 

[Crimson_Dawn13]

Good luck @revo, may the best husbando win.

My nomination had been William Vangeance.

And while I've already shared some of my reasons, how about we get into some details...
Warning: There are some spoilers ahead, but the big ones I believe are all censored...

Where?

I'm sure most of you will probably know where William is from since the shounen has been steadily gaining popularity in place of the hatred it once had - thanks in part to some awful marketing and none too amazing (though I would say it was perfectly serviceable for the most part, it wasn't awful) animation or voice acting in the first stretch of the anime, but that's all been improving (even if the shounen still isn't for everyone) - but for those of you who may not, he's from Black Clover.

And sure, I could have nominated a different representative - there are plenty more recognizable poll toppers within that series - but I chose, and will likely continue to choose him.

Who?

William Vangeance is a bit of a marmite character. You may love him, you may hate him, and while there is a neutral in between, you'll scarcely hear from those that are "meh" about him. So it follows that he might not be the husbando for you.

That said, there are aspects of him that play in his favour. For those of you who like a man of higher status, he is technically a noble and a captain of the highest-ranked squad in Clover. He's also the only captain in the series who's shown to do any paperwork - at least in the anime - so he can be responsible. And he did protect Clover Kingdom for ten years even though the kingdom has been anything but decent to him until he became captain. So he's not much of a grudge-holder or a vindictive or petty person. He's the second-youngest captain in the series.

He's obviously hardworking, since his squad did manage to end up at the top two years in a row, and that first time would have been when he was only around 25 years of age... impressive, no?

Spoiler

Especially for a squad of his own creation that he'd established first. And sure his words were a bit cheesy and overkill, but the idea of a squad being a reassuring symbol of hope and light is nice... even if the Lenny-faced sun was entirely unnecessary. Oh, well, at least it provides a good laugh.

He also has very powerful and interesting magic, that is just too gorgeous to look at.

William isn't the judgemental type and will readily accept and even help anyone - which isn't always a good thing, we'll get into that in a moment -, he's noted to be compassionate and can empathise with others.

And while not the most intelligent, he's still capable of planning and smart choices.

William:

"You know, I think it will be. We can start by ruling out all the spots that have already been hit. The place at risk the most at risk are those where treasure has recently been discovered or anywhere a harvest is about to take place. Especially a large one."

Yami:

"That's real nice detective work. But we're looking at one or two dozen here."

William:

"We can exclude places that are near a place they've already attacked, as well and they'll most likely avoid any areas that are on high alert."

Yami:

"Maybe but-"

William:

"But that's too many for just the two of us to manage. I'm well aware. So. Here and here. This village as well. Could you dispatch some squads to these three areas to watch for bandits?"

Yami:

"What for? If word gets out, it'll be all for nothing anyway, you know -"

Julius:

"That's brilliant! And assuming the information does get leaked we can simply use it to our advantage."

William:

"Correct. It's safe to assume the bandits will avoid the regions where magic knights are. They're probably going to appear where they believe no one will be waiting for them."

There are also apparently times when he can get adorably flustered, like in the light novel, Book of Yuno.

“Umm……. no, it’s fine. I just found out, but……”

It seemed as if he was being very careful with his words, which was incredibly unusual for him.

“The purpose behind this party is a little unique……. it’s a party where people with the same goal in mind gather together, or, how should I put it? This goal is rather specific…… Well, you’ll understand once you read the document.”

“Then, there’s no problem. We will look over it on our way there.”

“……Okay. I see. Then, there’s no problem.”

Vangeance said awkwardly as he handed the documents over to Klaus. Taking note of how uncomfortable he looked, Klaus sandwiched the documents under his arm and did a 3-leaf salute with his other hand.

“Well then, we’ll be on our way, Captain Vangeance! We’ll round up every single one of those ‘Original Sin’ tools, as well as every evil noble who’s distributing them!”

“Y-yes. I’m counting on you……”

“Yes sir!! We absolutely, positively won’t let you down!”

After such a formal(?) exchange of words, Vangeance, as if he were coming to terms with feelings of guilt, said so quietly that he was barely audible,

“……Um, if I find any Magic Knights who are free, then I’ll send them as reinforcements…… so, I hope you can forgive me.”

Oh, and did I mention that one of his favourite things are little birds/songbirds? He's also got the fourth highest affinity towards animals out of all the Black Clover characters. Stick by his side and you'll probably see quite a few adorable animals.

And so for the most part, if certain aspects of the series didn't happen, I'd say he'd be nice to have around. Someone who would listen and understand you. We all need a little support every now and again, and William just happens to be a great support mage. Isn't that convenient?

At the same time, emotions and personal bonds can make him make a seemingly dumb decision. His insecurities and his lack of faith in people means he doesn't open up to them, which I reckon is frustrating at best, and at worst... it turns out quite dangerous. He's reserved and keeps secrets. There are times when he comes off hypocritical or irresponsible. And while not strictly a liar, he is not above skirting around and avoiding the truth. For me, the mystery is part of the intrigue, but even I'd be a little frustrated with someone like that, whatever his reasons were. He can be seen by some as a bit of a doormat and spineless and has low-self esteem, poor dodging and reaction skills, and then there is the whole thing with him protecting and sympathizing with anyone... well, that may or may not include temporary terrorists. But hey, at least you can be reassured that he probably won't judge you no matter how much of a screw-up you are because I'm pretty sure you can't top that.

His faults don't come from nowhere though.

As with any character, he's got a backstory, and damn was it sad. Sure, being Black Clover, it wasn't exactly a tear-jerker, but after thinking it over, the implications of all those horrible scenes really started to sink in, and it's pretty clear why he doesn't trust humans.

Spoiler

Yami:

"Those are some nasty scars. Had 'em long?"

William:

"Always. My whole life. They called me a cursed child."

William:

"People found them eerie to look at and they feared me. I was a nobleman's illegitimate child. Until I was eight years old I lived in the forsaken realm, but then the nobleman's heir passed away. He summoned me, brought me into his house to be his successor. Fortunately, I possessed great power and my magic was a curiosity. But even then my face was despised and the Nobleman's wife, my foster mother treated me cruelly. I wouldn't wish the sort of childhood I had on anyone."

Besides, if you're able to see and experience someone else's horrifying past through their own eyes, I'd say that certainly makes empathising with someone much easier. Not to mention that his autonomy wasn't entirely there, given that he felt and was influenced by another being's emotions ever since he could remember.

Why?

Well, I chose him because he's my comfort character, he's certainly my husbando, he's complicated, sympathetic and precious.

Plus, I'd like him to win in something.

Also, because despite his screw-up, he feels remorseful over it - so not a psychopath. And then again, psychopaths don't even feel empathy.

William:

"In the end, I failed to commit and I let the both of you choose the outcome. I'm a monster."

Furthermore, he's willing to make up for it. Sure, he hardly gets to take accountability, but where he can help fix what he helped cause, he certainly tries to.

William:

"This battle happened because I was too weak to believe in Julius' dream or in the future I was meant to protect; therefore: I should be the one who puts a stop to this violence."

So really, he's just another human being that made an awful choice but has the conscience to regret it and willingness to make up for it. If any number of things had changed, the outcome would not have been the same and William might not have needed to be the marmite of Black Clover. But then again, that could take away from some of his complicated nature, and, having less reason to show up, I'd have seen him much less in the anime and manga.

Thank you for reading, and have fun voting.

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--- Double Post Merged, Dec 11, 2021, Original Post Date: Dec 9, 2021 ---

I figured since I still had some time to pass, and I've decided this place needed some William fanart, that I'll just put these here:

Source: Twitter

Source: Pinterest (I'm sure the original one is from elsewhere but I can't find it...)

Source: Himaert

Source: Twitter

Source: Pinterest (?)

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[Tatsumaki]

Tatsus are always the best choices

Spoiler

Don't you love when your man is smitten ?

When your man is stylish ?

When he's good with animals ?

When he cooks well ?

When he's flexible ?

This is the way of the Tatsus

Spoiler